Okonomiyaki
by My Fluffy Scarf
Summary: A silver ring, an accident, a runin with death, new understanding...and to think it all started with one helping of okonomiyaki. Yuki X Shuichi shounen ai. Lemons and mild incest.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This was a Roleplay between myself and PiNkInSaNiTy. I do not take whole credit for this story, but I do take half-credit. However, as PiNkInSaNiTy is one of my best friends, I really doubt she'd sue me. You know...unless I pissed her off somehow. puppy dog face Please no sue!

Disclaimer: Once again: Please no sue! I don't own Gravitation, or its characters, nor do I own NG productions, Bad Luck, or Nittle Grasper.

Shuichi yawned as he dropped his bag and shoes at the front door--it had been a long day. K had become even more bullet-happy than he usually was, Hiro was sick, Suguru was in a bad mood for whatever reasons, and all this made Sakano as edgy as he'd ever been. The worst part? They'd hardly gotten any work done.

Yuki glanced at the door to his office for a moment when he heard Shuichi come in before he return his attention to his latest novel. The deadline was a long way away, but he preferred to get his work done early so that he would have time to spend with his Shuichi, though he'd never say that aloud.

Shuichi glanced at the study door, which was shut--meaning leave Yuki the hell alone. Normally he wouldn't have listened to this nonverbal warning, but he was too tired to argue tonight. He just walked straight to the bathroom to take a shower.

Yuki looked up at the door again in worry. Was shuichi okay? Did something happen at work? Normally his hyperactive lover would bounce in and demand that Yuki pay attention to him and take him out to dinner or something like that. This was just...weird. He sighed and closed his laptop befor pushing away from his desk and heading for the bathroom. He knocked twice. "Shuichi? You okay?"

Immediately when he heard this, his hyperactivity returned. 'Yuki cares about me!' was his immediate thought. He bounced out of the bathroom, shirtless, and met Yuki with an idiotic grin. "Yeah, I'm okay! Are you okay? Of course you are!" He continued rambling about unimportant things like this and gestured madly with his hands.

Yuki put his hands on Shuichi's shoulders to keep him in place. "I'm glad you're all right, you had me worried for a minute, you usually just jump into my lap as soon as you get home; I thought something happened."

At that moment Shuichi's joy boiled over. "YUKI LOVES ME!" he shouted, tackling said blonde writer to the ground.

Yuki stared at the ceiling for a minute, noting that it needed new paint. "Of course I love you, Shuichi, why would you think I didn't?" Yuki's voice was hushed due to lack of air caused by the pink blob sitting on his chest.

Shuichi pulled away only slightly to look at Yuki, his impossibly large, impossibly purple eyes shining. "Because, Yuki, you've never told me so until just now." He laughed aloud with joy, and licked Yuki's ear. "But now you have. Yay!"

"Shuichi?"

"Hmm?" Shuichi said, resting his head on his lover's chest again.

Yuki was going to tell him to get the hell off, but...he just seemed so happy. He sighed. "You want anything special for dinner?"

"Okonomiyaki!" cried the pop star eagerly.

Yuki laughed. It was a deep laugh, though quiet, that rumbled through his chest and flowed from his lips. "All right." Yuki wrapped his arms around Shuichi's waist and proceeded to lift them both from the floor, Shuichi's legs wrapped tight around his waist and his arms coiled tightly around Shuichi.

Shuichi managed not to act surprised that Yuki was laughing and clung tightly to his lover as they rose. Yuki put a hand on Shuichi's butt to prevent him from slipping down and turned in the direction of the kitchen.

Blushing and inwardly hoping that Yuki's hand would stay where it was, Shuichi looked at the blonde man seriously. "Hey, Yuki?"

Yuki looked down at his lover. "Hmm?"

"I never did learn how to cook from you. We sort of gave up when I almost cut my finger off."

"You still want to?"

Shuichi nodded solemnly.

"Alright. Just promise me you'll be more careful than you were the last time, the last thing I need is for you to get hurt."

Shuichi smiled brightly. "Okay!

Yuki smiled and pushed Shuichi further up on his waist. "You wanna help me cook, then?"

"Yeah! I get to spend time with Yuki!" the spastic youth yelled to no one in particular.

Yuki laughed for the second time that day as he walked toward the table. "You'll blow out my eardrums if you keep that up. Then I won't get to hear your lovely voice."

Not able to think of another response to this, the pink-haired singer merely giggled.

Yuki put shuichi down on the table and went to get the ingredients and such.

Caught up in everything Yuki was saying to him, Shuichi had managed to forget what they were making. He commented on this to his lover.

"Okonomiyaki, koi." Yuki responded while he spread things out over the table.

"Oh yeah," said Shuichi cheerfully. He peered at what Yuki had set out on the table. "What are we using?"

"What I just laid out."

Shuichi curiously picked up a container, took off the lid, and sniffed it. He raised his eyebrows, made a face, and quickly put the lid back on, coughing. "We're using that!" he asked, pointing to it gingerly. "It's so strong!"

"That's why you don't use a lot of it and you fry it."

"Oh."

Yuki picked up a few of the ingredients and placed the in the frying pan and set it to simmer. He slid a recipe card in front of Shuichi.

Shuichi peered at the recipe card, then back at Yuki. He grinned nervously. "P-piece of cake," he said, making the "Victory" sign with his fingers.

"If you need any help ask and be careful." With that Yuki left the kitchen to go to who-knows-where.

The singer's face fell as his lover left the room. He had no idea what any of this meant...He made his decision and called Hiro. He lived on his own; surely he knew something about cooking.

"Hiroshi." The rough draft for their latest album could be heard blaring in the background; Spicy Marmalade was the song currently playing.

"Hey, Hiro!" Shuichi said, overly cheerfully. "You love me, right? I'm your best buddy, right?"

"What do you want, Shuichi?" Hiro laughed on the other end and the music was turned down.

"Can you cook?"

"I wouldn't be able to live by myself if I couldn't."

"Can you help me make okonomiyaki, please? Yuki left me alone with a recipe card, some ingredients, and a frying pan."

"Yeah. Here's what you do first, put the grated yam, water or dashi, egg, and shredded cabbage in the frying pan and set it to simmer. Let that cook for half hour or so."

"I think Yuki already did that."

"All right. How long ago was that?"

"Uhh, five minutes? Maybe?"

"Do you have a bowl near you?"

The pop star quickly snatched a bowl out of a nearby cupboard. "Yes."

"Good. Put a cup of negiyaki in it and half a cup of cheese. Then add a cup of water and two cups of flour."

"Negiyaki? That really strong-smelling stuff?"

"That's it."

He added the necassary ingredients and looked at the clock. Twenty minutes had passed since that stuff had started simmering. "Now what?"

"Now you stir it 'til it's thick and make sure it's mixed well. Then you want to add it to the stuff in the frying pan."

Shuichi followed these instructions and many more--this was more complicated than he'd thought.

Yuki watched Shuichi from his hiding place behind the wall. Though calling Hiro was somewhat like a cheat code, the kid still did fairly well. When he saw that Shuichi was almost finished he made a mad dash for their bedroom. He crawled on top of the bed and faked sleep.

As he took the finished--if slightly overdone--okonomiyaki out of the frying pan and into a serving dish and set it on the table, Shuichi wondered what his blonde lover was doing. Finishing with the table, the boy wandered down the hall to Yuki's room, to find the older man supposedly asleep on top of the bedcovers.

Yuki cracked an eye open when he heard Shuichi come in. Hopefully he didn't notice that Yuki hadn't been in the bedroom the whole time.

For a moment the pink boy was torn as to whether or not to wake his lover. He decided, finally, that he had made this dinner for Yuki, and Yuki was going to enjoy it--or at least eat it. "Hey--Yuki," Shuichi whispered, brushing a few blonde locks out of the writer's face.

Yuki opened his eyes and smiled. "No fire?"

Shuichi grinned and shook his head. "Nope," he said proudly, as though this were a big accomplishment.

Yuki sat up on the bed.

Scene Change

Shuichi sat back in his chair. "I'm done," he announced.

Yuki got up not saying anything in response. No "That was good, Shuichi" or "You could do better"; he just cleared the table, put the dishes in the sink, and walked out of the kitchen.

Shuichi scuttled unceremoniously after his lover. "Yuki...did you like it?" he asked bluntly.

Yuki turned and looked at his Shuichi. A small smile graced his features. "No, I didn't."

Shuichi cast his eyes down and blushed. "Oh...I'm sorry, Yuki, I know I can't cook..." he continued babbling.

Yuki kneeled down in front of his lover. "I didn't like it, I loved it."

The singer seemed to inflate. It was so cliche, but Yuki was the one saying it! "Yuki! You mean it!"

Yuki nodded. There was something he had to ask Shuichi, though.

Without further ado, the strawberry-haired boy jumped on his lover in a flying hug. "YUKI!" he cried.

Yuki tipped backwards. "Shuichi, what the he-" The air was knocked from his lungs as he hit the ground and pink ball of fluff curled around him.

He tapped Shuichi on the head. "Off? Please?"

Joyously Shuichi rolled off Yuki's chest to sit on the floor beside him, still with that stupid grin on his face.

Yuki took a deep breath to regain the air he'd lost. "Shuichi there's some thing that I want to ask you." Yuki stood up, brushed himself off, and offered Shuichi a helping hand.

"Hmm?"

Yuki pulled Shuichi up and led him to their room. "You might wanna sit."

Shuichi's violet eyes were filled with confusion as he sad on the bed, gazing up at Yuki.

Yuki shifted from one foot to the other in a nervous fashion. He got on one knee in front of Shuichi and pulled a little black box from his pocket.

Shuichi's heart nearly stopped and he was almost sure he knew what was going to happen, but he let Yuki talk--however, he could not hold back an excited squeal.

"Shindou Shuichi," Breathe, Yuki, Breathe... "I love you with all my heart and hope to spend the rest of eternity with you, which is why I'm asking you now...will you marry me?"

And Shuichi thought his heart was going to stop! It had to be going a hundred miles an hour as he forgot how to talk--or move, or breathe, for that matter. He could only choke out one word--"Yuki..."

Yuki stood, worry spread acoss his face--Shuichi was turning red due to lack of oxygen. "Shuichi?"

Losing the little self-control he had, Shuichi tackled his lover to the ground--again--screaming, "YES YES YES YES YES YES!" over and over again.

The box flew from Yuki's hand when his lover tackled him. It landed on the bed and the lid fell off, displaying a simple silver ring with the words 'My angel' engraved in it. Yuki wrapped his arms around Shuichi's waist and kissed his nose.

Shuichi giggled when his blonde lover kissed his nose, and gently pressed his lips to Yuki's own.

Yuki kissed back and licked at Shuichi's bottom lip teasingly before pulling away. "You going to put it on?"

"Oh--of course!" Shuichi, ever the little ball of energy, leapt off of Yuki and onto the bed in one motion, and slipped it on, reading the engravement in the process--that did it; his amethyst eyes shone with tears and he embraced his lover once more--gently, this time.

Yuki traced circles on Shuichi's back. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Yuki," Shuichi whispered, gently nibbling his lover's earlobe. He had learned from reading between the lines, that Yuki's ears were his weak spot. Reading between the lines, of course, meant noting how Yuki seemed to get extra-pissed when he was caught off-guard and his ears were involved.

Yuki titled his head and pulled Shuichi against him. He moved his hands down to Shuichi's butt and one toyed with the hem of the boy's pants. (Author's note: Shuichi's shirt is still off from when he was about to take a shower.)

Mischeviously, the pop singer's hands wandered up Yuki's shirt, to trace gentle patterns on the man's back with his fingernails.

Yuki was, to say the least, 'sensitive to touch'. He let out a moan and his hand plunged into Shuichi's pants and boxers and pulled the singer closer to him. He kissed the boy's neck and nipped at his pulse.

Whimpering slightly, said boy continued his assault on Yuki's ears and back, shivering a little in anticipation.

Yuki let out a breathy sigh and ground into Shuichi. He pushed both of them down on the bed and kissed the mark he had made on Shuichi's neck.

Ever so slowly, Shuichi's left hand found its way to Yuki's chest, then to the button of his pants. He toyed with it gently, not quite undoing it yet, but just to see what his lover would do.

Yuki pushed against Shuichi's hand and found his lips. He crushed his mouth to the singer's hard enough to draw blood.

Fumbling a bit, Shuichi unbuttoned the writer's pants and slowly slid his hand south, gently stroking the bulge through the thin material of his lover's boxers.

Yuki moaned and moved against Shuichi's hand. He pulled away from the kiss and locked his gaze with Shuichi's. "God I love you."

Shuichi grinned. Totally out of character, he said, "What? I didn't hear you." His left hand moved a little faster, a little harder.

Yuki bit his bottom lip. "Ah. Shuichi...mng...I-" Yuki moaned.

"You...?" the singer pressed. Just a little bit faster...

Yuki buried his head on Shuichi's shoulder, his back arched so that that lower half was slightly elevated. "I love you."

He let out a low moan and pressed into the hand. "God, Shuichi..."

The blonde had no idea just how much his mere voice, filled with lust, was arousing Shuichi. Feeling his erection rise, the pink-haired boy gently lowered it onto his lover's leg, as an alert.

Yuki licked Shuichi's neck and trailed his hands over Shuichi's chest to toy with his nipples. "I want you." It was the first time Yuki had acted so...so...uke-ish, and he hated to admit it, but he liked it. It was a nice change.

Shuichi gently licked Yuki's nose, cheek, and jawline before answering--"Do you?"

Yuki's breathing became eratic. "Yes."

Without another word Shuichi's hands were up Yuki's shirt, unbuttoning it from the inside and tracing patterns on the man's chest as they went.

Yuki moaned and panted against Shuichi's neck. This was a first for him, and he certainly hoped that it would not be a last. He was enjoying it far too much.

Finally all the buttons were undone and the unwanted scrap of clothing was tossed into the corner. Now Shuichi pressed his shirtless chest against Yuki's, his tongue caressing the man's neck, collarbone, chest, stomach, and then it hit Yuki's pantline, at which point his mouth traveled back upwards, as his hands wandered nowhere and everywhere on his lover's body.

Yuki panted. His hair was plastered to his face and his eyes were half lidded in both lust and love. "Shuichi please just..." Yuki trailed off. He would not sacrifice his pride just yet.

Smirking, the pink-haired boy's hands slid beneath his lover's pant line once more. "Just what?"

Yuki bit his lip and laid back on the pillows. "Just...ahh...please. Take me."

"Hmmm..." His hands were where they shouldn't be. "You sure?"

"Yes." Yuki met his lover's gaze, his eyes held nothing, but love and devotion mixed heavily with lust.

Mentally swearing at Yuki's hold over him, and still caressing Yuki with one hand, the other s-l-o-w-l-y pulled down his lover's pants.

Yuki arched off the bed to make it easier for his love to rid him of the offending garment. He ran a hand through Shuichi's bouncy pinky hair. "I love you."

"I love you too, Yuki," said Shuichi softly, quickly sliding off his own pants and boxers. Now there was only one layer of cloth separating them and the pink-haired singer pressed down on Yuki's erection through the underwear. Yuki moaned, too loudly for his liking, and gripped Shuichi's shoulders.

Shuichi returned to his abandoned assault on Yuki's ear as he slid the only barriar separating them down Yuki's legs and pressed himself once more down upon his lover.

"Ahh!" Yuki tilted his head to the side to give Shuichi better access. He ran his hands up and down the singer's back, tracing his spine, his ribs, his hips, anything he could get his greedy hands on.

"SHUICHI...ahh! Please!"

Grimacing--the lust in his lover's voice was almost more than he could handle--Shuichi ground slowly on his lover, trying to contain himself.

Yuki held his lover to him. "I...ah! Shuichi, I.."

"Damnit," Shuichi mumbled in frustration. "You're driving me insane," he muttered huskily into the blonde writer's ear, and finally slid himself, gently, into Yuki.

Yuki bit his lip. It was a weird feeling, having someone inside you. Then he felt it--Shuichi passed over THAT spot. Sparks of pleasure shot up and down his spine causing his to scream Shuichi's name. He was getting so goddamn close.

Shuichi dug his nails into Yuki's back, moaning, then began to move back and forth. Slowly, at first, then began to go faster and faster with each beat of his racing heart. "Yu...ki..." he moaned.

Yuki wrapped his legs around Shuichi's waist, pushing the pop star further in. "Ahh..."

Shuichi whimpered and moaned--then screamed as he climaxed, in pure bliss deep inside his lover.

Yuki came with Shuichi. His breathing became harsh before it began to even out. "Shuichi..."

"Mm?" asked Shuichi as he rolled over slowly, pulling out of Yuki before snuggling into his chest.

Yuki kissed the top of his head. "Was that..." He wanted so very badly to ask if that was how he'd made Shuichi feel so very many times before, but it just sounded so darn cheesy. "...how...Never mind."

"Wha-at?" Shuichi insisted. No matter how tired he was, he was never too tired to whine.

"Forget it brat."

An evil smirk. A nibble to the ear. "Please?"

Yuki sighed. "I'm not going to win, am I?"

"No."

"Fine." He took a deep breath, exhaled, then asked the question, though the words were so jumbled and mushed together that the were somewhat hard to decipher.

It took Shuichi maybe twenty seconds to figure out what he'd said. "You...I...we...oh!" he finally understood. A light blush adorned his cheeks. "Well...Y-yeah," he said hesitantly. "At least, I hope so."

Yuki didn't say anything. A shade of pink dusted his face and he pulled the covers over the both of them before settling down and sighing into his pillow.

"Yuki?"

Yuki was pulled out of his half asleep daze. "Hn?"

Shuichi looked up at Yuki, eyes clouded with sleepiness, and smiled. "I love you."

Yuki smiled back. "I love you too." With that he turned the bedside lamp off and snuggled down next to his lover. Oh, how he couldn't wait to see his sister's face when she found out about the engagement.


	2. Chapter 2

Shuichi woke up the next morning, and lay on his back thinking of what a wonderful dream he'd had the night before. As he went to put his hands behind his head, he noticed something shiny on his finger and gazed at it with wonder. It hadn't been a dream! He and Yuki were really getting married! He contained himself from squealing with joy, and snuggled close to his Yuki-chan until the older man woke up.

Yuki shifted in his sleep, a sharp pain spreading from his lower back up his spine. Until he realized that it wasn't really his lower back that hurt. He let out a short moan and grunt of pain before he rolled over onto his side, still half asleep.

"Yuki? Are...are you awake?" asked the pop star quietly.

Yuki mumbled something under his breath. "Not really..." He turned over again trying to find a comfortable position to ease the pain.

"Oh." Shuichi moved closer once more.

Yuki put an arm around his lover. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not more than five minutes..." he replied, stifling a yawn.

Yuki glanced at the clock. "You should get ready for work. Do you want me to pick you up today?"

"Yes," said Shuichi immediately. "Yuki, do..." he faded off.

"What?" Yuki propped himself up on his elbow keeping his other arm around Shuichi. His lower half protested at the action.

Suddenly the youth made eye contact with Yuki. "You don't mind if I tell everyone, do you?"

"They're going to find out eventually anyways." Yuki kissed Shuichi's nose. "I'll come with you if you want."

Shuichi shook his head with a huge grin. "I want to tell them," he said, jumping out of bed to race toward the shower.

Yuki shook his head and began his morning routine, though his was much slower then he usually was due to the quite obvious limp in his step.

On his way out the door after an impossibly fast shower, Shuichi caught a glance at his lover's limp and laughed. "Hope it doesn't hurt too much!" he yelled as he ran out the door. He only ran so that he wouldn't get a dictionary to the head.

Yuki growled and went to the kitchen to get his morning coffee before heading off to his office. "Damn brat."

"Good morning, everyone!" Shuichi yelled upon entering the NG building. Even those workers who he didn't know well were used to his antics and smiled. "Good morning, Shuichi," he heard from several directions. With a satisfied grin he went to the studio where his job was and did the same thing upon entry.

Hiro didn't bother to look up from fiddling with his guitar. "Yo. How'd dinner go?"

"Heh. Dinner was fine. Yuki said he loved it," the pop star bragged. "And, that's not all he said."

Hiro rolled his eyes. "Oh, what else did he say?" Sakano was busy toying with the buttons on one of the speakers.

Shuichi leapt onto a nearby chair. "GUESS WHAT, EVERYONE?" he yelled at the top of his lungs. When he was sure he had everyone's attention, he made the announcement: "Last night," he said, pausing dramatically, "Yuki proposed to me. We're getting married!" He held up his left hand where the ring was.

Hiro stared at the metal object on his friends finger for a moment. He heard a thump behind him and sighed. Their producer fainted...AGAIN. "That's great Shuichi."

Shuichi jumped off the chair and glomped his best friend. "Isn't it!"

"Any talk of when it will be? We do have to plan around concerts, ya know."

"No, we...kind of got distracted," said Shuichi, scratching the back of his head and sweatdropping.

"With what?" Hiro wiggled out from under his friend and dusted himself off. Sakano was going to have a cow if the wedding was the same time as a tour or something.

The sweatdrop grew and the pink-haired youth laughed nervously. "Well..." he leaned forward and whispered into Hiro's ear. ((Author's Note: He said something along the lines of, "Let's just say, he let me top."))

Hiro went slack jawed. "You're joking. Eiri Yuki letting you..?" 'Why'd I ask?' Hiro kicked himself mentally.

The boy just nodded. Suguru covered his ears. "Hiro-saaaan," he moaned. "I was hoping I wouldn't find out!"

Hiro looked over at Suguru and shrugged. He poked Sakano with his foot. "Wanna go find a replacement? I doubt he'll be waking up anytime soon."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," said K, making himself known for the first time. He slapped Shuichi hard on the back, causing the pink-haired singer to fall over. "Congrats, kid," he said with a grin. "Come on, Hiro, we'll go find Tohma."

Hiro was reluctant to go with K then decided that he rather liked living. "Okay."

As they walked down the hall K kept up with his usual shifty glances around, convinced that someone would attack at any moment, until they got to the Sacho's office.

Hiro knocked on the door. "Sir?" He looked back at K, terrified that the man would shoot him...why? He didn't know.

Tohma looked up from his mountain of paper work. "Yes?" Hiro opened the door.

K jumped past him. "Hiya, Sacho-san! Sakano fainted again and we don't think he's waking up any time soon. Can we have a replacement?"

Tohma stared at the man for a moment before looking through his drawer to see if he had any suitable substitutes for Sakano. "I'm sorry Mr. K but there's no one who can fill in for him today."

K blinked. "Uhh...well, we do need a producer..." he said, scratching the back of his head.

Tohma sighed before clearing his desk and picking up his brief case. "I'll fill in for him then...Did you leave Mr. Shindou alone with my cousin?"

"Yeah," said K casually.

Tohma rubbed his eyes. "That wasn't a very good idea.." Tohma grumbled something else under his breath and headed toward the door. "I just hope they didn't break anything."

K burst in the door first, brandishing his gun, and only lowered it once he was satisfied that there was no one there that shouldn't be. Shuichi let out a sigh. No matter how many times his manager did things like that it never failed to scare the daylights out of him.

Tohma put his briefcase on the table and knelt in front of the fallen producer. He noted that large bump on the man's head. "What made him faint anyway?"

K grinned at Shuichi. "Tell him, man," he said happily.

Hiro avoided eye contact with the other people present and went back to his guitar. "Yeah, tell him, Shuichi."

Shuichi blushed. "Yuki and I are engaged," he said with a shy smile. He wasn't sure how his boss would take this, and was a bit worried.

Tohma stiffened. Yuki..and...Mr.Shindou...Yuki had been talking about proposing to Shuichi the last time he'd had dinner with his sister and his brother in-law, but the NG president didn't think he was being serious. Eiri Yuki settle down? With a MAN? That didn't seem like him at all...Then again he and the pop star had been lovers for some time. "What...?"

Shuichi nodded, avoiding eye contact, as Suguru looked worriedly at the pair of them, hoping that this wasn't a danger sign.

Tohma took a deep breath to calm himself down. to tell the truth he couldn't think of anyone better for Eiri then the pink haired ball of energy. He stood up, turning around and smiled at the boy. "Congratulations." He didn't want to be the one to tell Mika though...God only knew how that would turn out.

Shuichi's smile strengthened. "Thanks," he said.

Hiro sighed when he saw that there would be no war between the two anytime soon. He motioned for Shuichi to help him help Tohma get their producer off the floor and into a chair.

Shuichi bounced happily over to help and together they lifted the overly nervous man into a chair, and after that the day went by normally--despite Tohma replacing their producer and Shuichi being even happier and more hyper than he usually was.

Yuki parked his car outside the studio and entered the building without much trouble. He was, after all, the president's brother-in-law and Bad Luck's vocalist's lover/fiancee. He was very thankful that the limp was no longer noticeable, unless you really paid attention to how Yuki was walking. He knocked on the door to the recording studio.

K answered the door and grinned devilishly when he saw who their guest was. "Why, if it isn't loverboy!" he cried. Seguru smiled pleasantly. "Hello, Yuki-san. Congratulations."

It took Yuki a moment before he realised that he'd given Shuichi permission to announce their engagment. He toyed with the plain silver band he had on his own finger before nodding. He looked over to Shuichi. "Ready to go?"

Said ball of energy bounced over to his fiancee and grinned. "Yeah! Let's go!" Hooking his arm around Yuki's, he turned around on the way out the door and waved. "Bye, everyone!" Right before the door closed he could have sworn he heard K say "Have fun!" but couldn't be sure.

Yuki sighed as he was dragged along by his lover. He fell in step with the boy and laced their fingers together. "How'd things go? I saw Tohma in there."

"For a second I thought he was going to explode--but he was fine with it; he congratulated us."

Yuki was awe struck. "Really?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too."

"So far so good. The only people I'm worried about now are my sister and father." Yuki shivered at the mere thought of telling his father.

For a moment Shuichi was silent. "Sorry, Yuki," he said in a choked voice.

"Sorry for what?"Yuki stopped walking, tightening his grip on his lover's hand.

"Well, your dad's a monk; he won't like us getting engaged. I don't want to cause you even more problems with your dad..."

Yuki turned Shuichi around and attatched his mouth to the boy's. He pulled away for a moment. "You're everything to me. No matter what I will always want to be with you, what my father thinks doesn't matter to me." With that Yuki reacquainted himself with Shuichi's lips.

Seguru, also leaving work, caught sight of this as he left the building. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth with his hands as he crept silently back inside, and to a nice deserted room before letting out a terrified scream.

Shuichi, meanwhile, kissed back, wrapping his arms around his fiancee's neck.

Yuki wrapped his arms around Shuichi's waist and had the boy wrap his legs around him. He carried his lover out to the car, only breaking the kiss to exit the building. He parted from his lover to take in some much needed air as he unlocked the car.

The pop star whimpered a little every time the passionate kiss was broken and unwrapped his legs from his lover to get in the car.

Yuki got in and shut his door. He had a bad habit of not buckling in. He started the car once he heard Shuichi's door slam shut and began to pull out of the parking lot.

Shuichi sighed and leaned back against the seat. To think this all started with one helping of okonomiyaki...

Yuki pulled out of the lot and drove in the direction of the house he reached over for Shuichi's hand when they stopped at a red light.

Shuichi gently grasped his lover's hand and smiled softly, before crying out Yuki's name--there was a car coming from their right and it wasn't stopping!

Yuki grabbed the wheel and turned to car so that the impact wouldn't be as harsh. He squeezed Shuichi's hand and the next thing he knew everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

K hung up the phone and faced the teams of Nittle Grasper and Bad Luck, minus Hiro, whom K had just been on the phone with. For once, the gun-brandishing manager was grim-faced. "I have good news and bad news," he said into the tense silence. "The good news, is that Shuichi will make a full recovery." He let the sighs of relief die down before continuing. "The bad news--Yuki-san might not make it."

Suguru gasped. The rest of the room was silent for a moment.

Sakano mumbled something about 'waking nightmares' before fainting. Tohma stared blankly at the opposite wall looking like he was torn between sobbing or breaking something--preferably someone's neck.

Suguru took a deep breath in and out, then another. This news was so unexpected; and not only would it harm Yuki if he didn't make it, it would harm Shuichi, which would harm Bad Luck, and it was likely that Suguru would lose a lead singer--and a friend.

Tohma inhaled deeply and rose from his seat. He mumbled a few curses under his breath and headed for the door. His eyes were glazed over; he felt like crying, whether it was for Yuki, or Shuichi, or both, he didn't know.

"Where are you going?" asked Seguru suddenly.

"To see Mr. Shindou. And possibly check on Eiri, if I'm permitted."

"I'm coming," the youth replied immediately, standing up so fast that he knocked his chair over.

Tohma looked surprised for all of one second. "As you wish." That said he left the room and headed for his awaiting limo.

Suguru took surprisingly long, graceful strides and at least half of the room thought that they were looking at a darker-haired version of the president of NG. Ryuichi probably would have commented, but he was crying, hugging Kumagoru close.

"You don't trust me." Straight forward and to the point. Tohma was exactly 20 paces ahead of his cousin.

"You're right," Suguru replied evenly. "I don't."

Tohma looked back. "I really do not wish to harm him."

Suguru glared daggers at his cousin. "That doesn't mean you have his best interests at heart, either, Tohma. You've been known to toy with that boy's emotions and I'm not taking any chances."

Tohma smiled to himself. Suguru was very right, but at the same time very wrong. True, Tohma didn't much care for the boy, but Yuki did, and that was all Tohma needed to want to protect the singer. "I didn't know you cared."

The young keyboardist sighed. "It's hard to know that guy so well and not go to one extreme or another. I don't see how anyone could hate Shuichi; and I very well don't, so I care about him very much. He just seems to get under your skin."

Tohma stopped for a minute to let his cousin catch up to him. They didn't get along well, but he wanted--needed--the company.

Suguru, suspicion dropped for the moment, glanced curiously at Tohma's face, then jumped in front of his cousin to get a good look at his face. "You're not crying, are you, Tohma-san?"

Tohma touched his cheek to find that it was wet...VERY wet. Signaling that his was, in fact, crying. "Hn."

Suguru smiled pleasantly and fell once more into step beside his relative.

The walk to the car continued in a relatively comfortable silence. Tohma told his driver where they were headed and opened the door for Suguru.

Still with the pleasant smile on his face, Suguru slid into the backseat for the ride to the hospital.

Tohma got in beside his cousin and slammed the door. He turned his cell phone off.

They rode in silence.

When they got there, the keyboardist followed his cousin to the front desk, then to the room Shuichi was staying in. When the nurse opened the door for them, Suguru had to hold back tears at the sight of his lead singer lying in the bed, looking so helpless--it hadn't sunk in until now.

Tohma who had stopped crying during the car ride, felt tears slide down his cheeks. His put a hand over his mouth and made a choking sound that resembled a sob. If this was his reaction to Shuichi, then he wasn't sure if he wanted tosee Yuki.

Suguru, meanwhile, hadn't noticed his cousin since they'd walked in. He pulled a chair next to his friend's bedside and sobbed openly. Being young, he was not afraid to show his tears.

Tohma motioned for the nurse to leave and shut the door after she left. He walked up be hind his relative and put a hand on his shoulder. 'God I'm such a girl.'

Suguru noticed, but didn't acknowledge, at first, Tohma's hand on his shoulder. He did, however, steel himself and stop sobbing. He sniffled once...twice. "Eiri-san is through that door, Tohma." His voice trembled. "You and I both know that he's who you want to see the most."

Tohma nodded. "I doubt I'll be able to handle it if this is how I'm reacting to Shuichi." It was the first time he'd called the singer by his first name.

The keyboardist looked up. After a moment he stood, and put a reassuring hand on his cousin's back. "Come on," he said softly. "I'll come."

"Let's wait til Shuichi wakes up." Tohma looked over to the boy in the bed. "Maybe he'd like to come with us. Besides I think the doctors are in the right now."

"All right." Suguru sat back down in his chair and gazed at Shuichi. "I never knew how much I cared," he said with a hollow little laugh.

"Neither did I." Tohma took a seat on the armrest of Suguru's chair, since it was the only other chair in the room besides the coutch, and that was bolted to the wall and to far away from the bed for his liking.

Shuichi chose this moment to open his eyes and groan weakly; and for a moment he thought he was seeing double--before he realized that he was looking at his two coworkers. Wait--what the hell was Tohma doing here? He looked bleakly at them. "Hi," he said in a bewildered voice.

Tohma offered a weak smile in greeting. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll live," he said with a little smile in return. "How's work?"

Tohma rolled his eyes at that. "Boring, chaotic in your department, and depressing." He wiped away a few stray tears.

Seguru smiled a little when Shuichi's eyes widened. But even Shuichi had the sense not to comment on this unusual sight. "So," Suguru said, steering the subject away from Tohma's emotions, "Have you spoken to Nanako-kun lately?" he asked.

Shuichi shook his head. "Nah, not since Wednesday." Wednesday had been the day of the crash.

Tohma nodded. He was listening to the noise coming from Yuki's room, he heard a door close and then silence. "I think that the doctors are finished with Eiri."

Suguru looked at his lead singer and chuckled. Shuichi's eyes had opened wider and he looked pleadingly at Suguru. Taking the hint, the keyboardist looked at his cousin. "Let's take Shuichi along, shall we?"

Tohma nooded his consent and offered his hand to Shuichi.

Suguru did the same and Shuichi took both hands, and, with heavy support, was able to stand up. He limped valiantly to Yuki's bedside and took the chair nearest the bed. Luckily there were four chairs in this room.

Tohma took the seat to Shuichi's right and scanned over Eiri. If he was crying in Shuichi's room, he was having a breakdown now. Eiri looked...he looked...not like Eiri. He was so pathetic; it was scary to see the once strong man confined to a hospital bed. There were tubes carrying both medicine AND blood to and from Yuki's body. Some were in his arms, his nose, and well...everywhere. The dark circles and pale skin completed the depressing picture.

Shuichi gazed at his slightly hysterical president for a few long seconds before doing something he never thought he'd do. He hugged his boss. It was a friendly hug, one of comfort; and after a moment he too was bawling his eyes out.

Yuki coughed and hacked up some blood, he was half asleep and most of his body was numb. He REALLY wished his throat was. It was so dry and it hurt like hell. He heard voices crying...Tohma...Shuichi...and he could tell that there was one other in the room, but he didn't care to open his eyes to see who.

Suguru rather felt he was intruding upon this little moment and sat on a chair some ten feet away. They all noticed Yuki cough, but no one really registered it besides the keyboardist of Bad Luck, who was at his side in an instant. "Yuki-san, are you all right?" he asked worriedly.

Yuki grunted in pain and turned his head to the side keeping his eye shut tighed. He coughed again and a drop of blood ran down his chin. Tohma near passed out when he saw it. He had a phobia of seeing other people's blood.

Shuichi, sniffling like mad, reached out and wiped the blood gently away with his sleeve, as much for Tohma's sake as for Yuki's.

Yuki felt someone wipe the blood from his mouth, but couldn't tell who it was, he opened his eyes to check, but he was greeted with a never ending darkness. "Shu? Is that you?" Yuki's voice was raspy and low due to his dry and unused vocal chords.

"Yeah, Yuki, it's me," he said quietly. "Seguchi-san and Seguru-san are here, as well."

Yuki kept his eyes open though he still could not see. "Hn."

"How are you feeling?" asked the singer softly.

"Better then I was." Yuki reached out for Shuichi desprately needing contact to know that there was in fact a world beyond the sight that he didn't have.

Shuichi, noticing this little struggle, grasped his fiancee's hand tightly and pressed it to his cheek, a gentle reminder that he was always there.

Yuki smiled when he felt Shuichi take his hand. "So how long have I been bedridden?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "I've been asleep almost as much as you..." he looked at Suguru. "How long's it been, Suguru?" he asked.

"About six days," the afore mentioned keyboardist said. Shuichi winced. That was quite a while.

Yuki grunted and sat up in bed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." It was the first thing Tohma had said since the novelist woke up. Yuki merely grunted and resigned himself to leaning on the head board. "Anyone want to tell me what's up with my eyes? They were fine the first time I woke up."

"Why?" asked Shuichi, immediately concerned.

Yuki looked in the direction of the voice eyes looking straight through his lover. "You haven't noticed that I'm blind?"

Before Shuichi could panic, Seguru jumped in. "That's normal, Eiri-san," he said calmingly. "It's not permanent; it's just a result of brain damage. You must have bumped your head."

"It got slammed into a dashboard, no shit I bumped my head." He rubbed his temples. "And I need a new car. Did they catch the idiot who hit us, by the way?"

Everyone fell silent. After a moment, Shuichi spoke quietly. "He died in the crash." These words rang in deafening silence for a few seconds.

Yuki rested his head on the headboard. 'Thank god the sedatives are kicking in.' He began to drift into unconsiousness, which, to the others present, probably looked like he was dying on them, since he heard the heart monitor slow. Yuki whispered something for only Shuichi's ears before he fell asleep. "Even if I do die, I'll never leave you. Good-byes never last forever."

For a moment the pop star's heart stopped beating--until he saw that Yuki's own heart hadn't. Breathing a sigh of relief, he realized he was still crying. It was hard to stop, knowing how much pain Yuki was in. Shuichi grasped his lover's hand tightly, never wanting to let go. 'You're not going to die, Yuki,' he thought. 'You already said everything would be okay...I'll never be okay if you're not with me.'

Tohma was about to have another break down. He motioned with his head toward the door when he caught Suguru's eyes. He put a reassuring hand on Shuichi's shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be fine. We'll be back to check on you two in a day or two."

Shuichi nodded silently, never taking his eyes off Yuki. What everyone else didn't know, was that the blonde writer was still beautiful no matter how many tubes he had in his body, or how many bruises to mar his once flawless skin. Shuichi knew, though.

Yuki subconciously mumbled Shuichi's name in his sleep.

Upon hearing this the tears flowed faster down the singer's cheeks and he sobbed quietly. He didn't know what he'd do without his Yuki in his life.

Blood flowed out from the corner of Yuki's mouth and his heart monitor spead up for a minute before slowing back down.

Shuichi gazed at his lover and brushed his lips against Yuki's. "Why did it have to be you?" he asked ears that couldn't hear him. "I can't stand to see you like this..." He squeezed Yuki's hand, though gently because he didn't want to hurt him. He fell asleep, tears still flowing, with his head rested on Yuki's chest to listen to his heart beat.

Scene

Doctors rushed into room 102. One of the nurses ripped Shuichi away from Yuki as they quickly crowded around the novelist. A machine had gone off in his doctor's lab, signaling that Yuki's heart had, in fact, stopped beating. That clearly was not a good thing, not at all. They jumped his heart a few times then stood back a little to see what happened.

Shuichi, on the floor and in pain, was disoriented. He caught enough snatches of conversation to piece together the face that his lover's heart had stopped. Unfortunately, his panicking self couldn't see past the solid wall of doctors and nurses that had been built around the writer, and all he could do was wait.

Yuki's doctor backed away when nothing happened and signaled for the other's to do the same, to let the now dead man's lover see him.

"Yuki!" cried the panic-stricken boy, streaking forward despite pain in his ribs. His eyes were blurred with yet more tears and he grasped his lover's hand tightly. "Yuki, please, please wake up!" he pleaded upon deaf ears.

Yuki was somewhere...where? He didn't know, but he saw a light, a blinding light, then darkness. He heard Shuichi, but he was crying...why was he crying? Something about not waking up...did that mean that Yuki was dead? No he he couldn't be, refused to be, he promised Shuichi that everything would be fine and he'd be damned if he broke his lover's heart! He heard Shuichi call out to him again...A solitary beep sounded throughout the room...follow shortly after by an other, and other as the formed a pattern that caused the blonde man's doctor to gasp. "He's...?"

Shuichi's eyes widened with shock and joy, then he laughed aloud. "He's ALIVE!" he said, and immediately got up and danced across the room.

The doctor motioned for the others to leave aside from two of Yuki's nurses whom he told to wait outside. "Ten minutes, no more no less." With that the doctor left the room to wait until he could go in again.

Yuki grimaced. "He gone?"

The pink-haired singer laughed again--everything was five times funnier than usual now. "Yeah, he is," he replied.

A pause.

"Oh, Yuki, I was so scared," he said quietly.

Yuki opened his unseeing eyes. "So was I. I didn't want to leave you...to break your heart..."

Shuichi gently stroked his lover's face, just savoring his voice and the simple fact that he was here to speak with him.

"Shuichi, promise me something, okay?"

"Hmm?" Shuichi's hand never stopped moving across Yuki's face.

Yuki smiled at the contact. "You will never EVER let me smoke again in my life!"

The pop star laughed. "So all this time I've been nagging you to quit, and now you realize how smart I am?" he teased.

Yuki laughed a bit and followed the hand to the arm, to the shoulder, to the neck...to the face. "...and that you will never follow me into death should I die..."

Shuichi blinked once...twice. "Yuki..." was all that came out.

Yuki moved his hand to the back of Shuichi's neck and brought the singer's face closer to his own. "Promise me..." Their lips were an inch apart.

"I promise," said Shuichi. And it was a promise he intended to keep.

"I'll hold you to that..." Yuki closed the short distance between the two. His doctor walked in a moment later to the sight and turned a bright red. 'I can always check on him later.' He walked out of the room and down the hall followed by two giggling nurses.

Shuichi savored Yuki's mouth upon his...for a few seconds he thought he'd never feel that sensation again. He ran a hand through his lover's unbrushed hair.

Yuki moaned and stroked the hairs on Shuichi's neck. 'He's going to have a mullet if he doesn't cut it soon...'

Shuichi kept one hand tangled in his lover's hair, and the other stroked his face. 'If only Yuki weren't in such bad condition,' he thought mournfully. He really had no intention of breaking the kiss any time soon.

Yuki ran a hand down his lover's chest to his pantline. He pulled away. "Just because we can't have sex doesn't mean I can't make you feel good."

Shuichi licked his lover's bottom lip. "That's not very fair to you," he said breathily.

"You can make it up to me during our honeymoon."

"That's a plan, then," Shuichi said.

Yuki smiled and captured Shuichi's lips again. He moved his hand to Shuichi's crotch and squeezed; his other hand traveled along Shuichi's back to his butt. "You may have to help a bit, koi."

Shuichi "mmph"'ed to show that he understood, and his tongue found its way to Yuki's ear again.

Yeki gasped at the sensation and moved his hands to the inside of Shuichi's hospital pants. 'No boxers...'

Shuichi's tongue gently licked the sensitive area between his lover's jawline and ear as Yuki moaned and his free hand traveled up and down Shuichi's back. He was frustrated not knowing what spots he could and could not touch.

Shuichi moved his mouth back to Yuki's lips and kissed him passionately, still remembering how it'd felt to think he would never feel those lips against his again.

Yuki growled into the kiss. One hand stroked his lover while the other twitched. "Shu..."

"Mm..."

Shuichi pressed one hand on the back of Yuki's head and kissed with more force, still savoring the taste of his fiancee.

Yuki moaned and moved his hand to toy with the singer's balls. At least now he could put the tubes to good use and use his imagination...

Shuichi whimpered and licked his lover's collarbone, then nipped at his neck gently.

Yuki made a noise that sounded like a mix between a laugh and a groan. "Mmm...Love you." By now the singer was panting lightly. "I love you too..." he said, barely audible. Shuichi suddenly felt tears on his face again and he buried his head--gently--in his lover's shoulder. They splashed onto the bed. "Yuki...I'm so glad you're here with me." Yuki began to pet the back of Shuichi's head as he stared at the ceiling. "Me too." Shuichi pressed into the hand that was still toying with his privates and made a little whining noise in the back of his throat. Yuki laughed and massaged Shuichi's balls as he moved his other hand away from Shuichi's hair and to the delicate tip of his penis.

Shuichi gasped and bit down on the sheets to prevent himself from crying out.

Then someone burst through the door.

Mika took one look at the scene and began screaming her head off. Yuki froze when he heard the scream, he REALLY hoped the sound hadn't come from the person he thought it came from. "Shu," His voice was cracked and almost a whisper. "Please tell me that's not my sister." Shuichi sighed, rubbed his eyes, and said, "Okay, I won't." As he looked at the hysterical woman, he realized half the hospital must be awake now. He ran over and covered her mouth with his hand.

Mika saw the flash of silver on the boy's left hand and stopped screaming, but snatched said hand and held it up to eye level. She looked from Shuichi, to Yuki, and back again. "Oh, no. No. No WAY."

Yuki rubbed his eyes, true he couldn't see, but he very well knew what Mika was 'no-ing' about. "Mika?"

"Eiri," she said in a dangerous voice, "Show me your hand."

Yuki flinched, he thought he'd never be afraid of his sister, but then again he also thought that he would never love another man. Reluctantly he held up his hand the silver band sparkling in the dim lighting.

"That," she said quietly, "is what I thought." She took a deep breath in. "YOU IDIOTS! WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?" she screamed.

"Mika, shut the fuck up, sit down and I'll explain." Yuki put his hand down and sighed.

Mika stood there for a moment, breathing like a winded horse, and pulled up a chair next to the bed. Shuichi pulled up another chair--on the other side of the bed. 'I always was scared of her,' he thought.

Mika, in the meantime, sent continuous death glares in the singer's direction.

Yuki, should he have seen the glares would have attacked his sister, but as it was the only thing he could do was stare blankly at the ceiling, yet another thing to explain in the already complicated story. "First, I don't see what's so wrong about us being engaged." He paused to let his sister say something to that, if she hadn't gone into shock or something.

"What about our father! What is he going to think? I really wouldn't put it past him to disown you, Eiri, and I don't want that to happen to you!"

"Do you really think that I haven't already thought of that!" He spat back. "I really don't care what he says think or does! I love Shuichi and if he doesn't like it then too fucking bad!"

Mika was taken aback for a moment, before looking down at her hands. "You...He really makes you happy, doesn't he?"

Yuki turned his head in the direction of his sister's voice, he had a feeling that his lover was blushing. "Yes, he does."

"That's...really all I want, Eiri." She looked into her brother's unseeing eyes. "I just want you to be happy. If the brat can make that happen...so be it." At that point she stood up and walked toward the door, stopping in the doorway. "But...having sex in the hospital isn't a very good idea."

She shut the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

'Hospitals are no fun!' is thoughts, and

"Hospitals are no fun!" is speech.

Yuki rolled onto his side and curled into a ball...a groaning and hissing ball. Shuichi, who hadn't spoken since Yuki had defended him, pulled his chair closer to Yuki's bed and began stroking his lover's hair, his fingers passing featherlight across the writer's blonde locks. He had tears in his eyes once more, but blinked them back. It wasn't normally like Yuki to defend him so adamantly; it rather shocked him. The corner of Yuki's mouth twitched into a half smile, then he hissed once more in a mix of pain and alienation. Shuichi gazed worriedly at his lover, wishing there was some way to ease his pain, but all he could do, and all he did do, was lean close and whisper sweet nothings into the novelist's ear, never ceasing the movement across his blonde scalp.

Yuki put a hand over the younger male's mouth. "Don't. I'm fine, really." He ruffled Shuichi's hair playfully. Shuichi rolled his eyes. For some reason, he was never allowed to comfort Yuki. "You don't seem fine to me," he said. He was still petting Yuki's hair.

"I'm fine Shu, just a little...alienated." He motioned to the tubes, or where he assumed were the tubes were, that were sticking out from the end of the bed.

"All right, all right," said the singer, and let the subject drop.

"Something on your mind?" asked Yuki, concern barely recognizable in his voice.

"Besides the fact that your sister just walked in, freaked out, then left only after waking up everyone in the place?"

Yuki laughed and shifted a bit on the bed trying to get comfortable. "Try being related." Yuki shifted again and growled in frustration. "Please tell me these things don't have to come home with me when I'm discharged."

Shuichi kissed his lover on the cheek. "I hope not," he said. They never did finish what they'd started.

The intercom in Yuki's room went off. "I believe it's safe to assume that Shindou-san is in the room with you?" asked the doctor, his voice slightly distorted. Yuki groaned mentally. "Yes."

"Very good. Shindou-san, Yuki-san's medicine needs to be switched and he needs to be given his sleeping medication; would you care to do that for me? I'm in surgery at the moment." Several other voices could be heard in the background shouting out orders to each other.

Shuichi blinked. "I don't know how to do any of that stuff," he said to the intercom.

"That's fine, I can tell you how to. Do you think you can? If not, I'm sure I can find a way to get out of here-IDIOT! I SAID SEW IT, NOT CUT IT MORE!- Terribly sorry about that, didn't mean to scream in your ears."

Shuichi gulped. "Uhh...well...I'm...not good at this kind of thing," he mumbled. What he was really trying to say was that he didn't want to handle a delicate situation like this and endanger his lover's life.

"Could you at least remove the tubes that are in there now and give him his sleeping medicine? I'll be up in a few minutes to change them since you don't want to." He yelled at his assistant again, this time being sure to cover the mouth piece. "Please and thank you." With that he hung up. Shuichi sighed and grabbed an orange bottle off the table at random and read the label...not sleeping medicine. He grabbed another--nope. After several tries, he finally found it. He presented that and a glass of water to his lover. "Do you need help sitting up?" he asked, concern in his shining eyes.Yuki folded his arms across his chest like the stubborn child he was. "No." It was a lie. "And if you even think of taking those tubes out I'll hurt you, they feel weird as it is, they don't need to be touched." That was also a lie--well, the 'I'll hurt you' part, anyway.

Shuichi sighed sadly and said, "Then at least take the pill and the water."

Yuki turn his head to the side. "No."

"Why? If you don't take them I'll take out the tubes while you're awake."

Yuki shuddered at the thought, but still refused. "No." 'I want to piss off my doctor.' He crossed his legs.

Shuichi looked at the door--no one was coming--and nibbled Yuki's ear. "Come on, Yuki," he said pleadingly.

"No." Was that a whine?

"What, you scared?" he asked playfully.

"No." Yuki uncrossed his legs to prove his point.

"Then prove it. Take the damn pill."

Yuki scowled. "How do I know you're not being a pervert? How do I know that's not Viagra or something that you're about to give me?"

Shuichi laughed. "Because last time anything fun got started, Mika-san walked in. It's a curse. That, and the pill isn't blue."

Yuki looked away. The Brat had a point. "Well, do you do everything you're told?"

"No. But when a doctor's the one telling me to, and it's for my own good, I do it."

"Bah." Yuki grumbled something under his breath

Suddenly, Shuichi had an idea. He popped the pill inconspicuously into his mouth, bent down, and kissed his lover deeply, not yet releasing the medicine.

Yuki's eyes widened and he opened his mouth for Shuichi, kissing back.

The singer chose that moment to push the pill with his tongue into the back of Yuki's mouth, and pulled away.

Yuki swallowed the pill and gagged, eyes opening. "Shuichi, I'm gonna kill you!" Yuki made a grab for his lover and nearly feel of the bed, having forgotten that just because he'd opened his eyes didn't mean he could see.

Shuichi just sat down and laughed, amazed at his own brilliance.

Yuki settled back on the bed. "That was a low blow." His words were already slurring from the heavy medication.

"With you, that's my only option." Shuichi decided he enjoyed petting his lover's hair and so resumed doing so. He was still afraid he'd screw up and was putting off removing the tubes.

Yuki shifted in the bed. "Love you Shu-chan." The words were slurred and said as if the man was high but they did have meaning behind them. He let his left leg hang over the side of the bed and swing it back and forth sub-conciously.

Shuichi blushed and leaned forward once more. When his lips were an inch from his lover's, he muttered, "You don't have to take any more pills; don't get suspicious." He closed the distance, kissing his lover passionately. Yuki kissed back and let his tongue explore Shuichi's mouth as his hand found it's way to the back of the singer's head.

The singer's right hand stroked his lover's face while the other braced him on the bed. He pulled away just a little; their lips were still almost touching. "Your doctor's going to be here soon," he said slightly breathlessly.

Yuki sighed. "I know. Oh, and you don't do everything the doctor tells you to."

"And how do you know that?"

Yuki spread his legs (which were under the covers), with his knees in the air. "That's how I know."

Shuichi looked away. "Uhh, right," he mumbled. "But since when do you follow my example?"

"Since now." Yuki rolled his head from side to side to crack his neck and let out a sing-song sigh. Shuichi's hand automatically went back to stroking Yuki's hair as they waited for the doctor to come in. This was quickly becoming a habit.

Yuki's doctor walked in briskly and put on a new set of gloves. He did a double take when he saw Yuki's legs spread. "Mr. Shindou did he let you replace the tubes?"

Shuichi sweatdropped. "No," he said.

"Ah." The doctor walked over to a storage closet and got out the replacements and the medicen that went with them. "Then it looks like I'll have to do it." Yuki promptly put his legs down a crossed them, being sure the no one could spread them unless they were the Hulk. The doctor sighed to himself.

Shuichi looked at said doctor apologetically before lowering his lips yet again onto Yuki's. This was a simple, yet effective, method of weakening his lover's muscles.

Yuki growled against his lover's lips before giving in and spreading his legs so that the doctor could do his job. "You better be a good distraction, Shindou."

Instead of responding, Shuichi slid his hand around the back of Yuki's head, deepening the kiss, and licked lightly at the novelist's lips. Yuki opened his mouth and returned the kiss lovingly, he stroked the hair at the back of Shuichi's neck and winced slightly when he felt the first tube being pulled out and replaced. The singer felt Yuki wince, and kissed him with more force, hoping to make the experience a bit less uncomfortable. The novelist pressed back against the pillow as the kiss deepened and was glad when the sleeping medication began to take more effect. This is how the process continued, and to Yuki, ended all too soon--that is, to the Yuki that was to high to really notice anything but Shuichi's tongue.

Shuichi noticed that Yuki's tongue was slowing down, meaning that the drug was beginning to take effect. 'Thank god,' he thought. There were still four tubes to go; he was afraid Yuki would begin feeling them more once the initial passion of the kiss wore off. Besides, his still-healing ribs were beginning to hurt from bending over for so long. Yuki's eyes closed and he drifted of into the haze of pre-dreamland. He mumbled a few things as he drifted off and his voice was low and the slurred phrase 'my angel' being among the rambling before the man fell asleep. Shuichi heard this and blushed, pulling back and massaging his ribs lightly. His gaze, however, never left Yuki's face.

The doctor finished his work and threw away his now slightly bloody gloves. He put the sheets back over Yuki's lower half. "He'll be out for at least four hours, so if you're still in the room when he wakes up, make sure he eats."

Shuichi nodded; he definitely planned on being in the room. He pulled the (conveniently) wheeled armchair closer to Yuki's bed, curled up, and fell asleep quickly.

Author's Note: I am SO sorry for not updating in so long! Hopefully you guys didn't forget about me...But combining school, multiple groundings, relationship angst, and the like, I've been too busy to go through my Conversation History, find the elusive document that the roleplay is saved in, copy-and-paste it into Wordpad, and edit it all. But I figured since it's Thanksgiving, I thought I'd give you guys a present. Gomen nasai again, and happy Turkey Day! P.S., I will update again very soon, maybe even tonight if I get the time. If not, within seven days at the very most. -silvea-


	5. Chapter 5

As Mika stalked through the door of her home, she saw Tohma in the hallway and confronted him. "Did you know Shindou and Eiri are engaged?" she asked, not beating around the bush, death in her eyes.

Tohma stared at his wife for a moment before it clicked, he'd forgotten to tell her with all of the commotion. He mentally slapped himself. "Y-yes..." He held his hands up. "But I seriously didn't mean to keep it from you!"

Mika walked into the kitchen, grabbed a beer out of the fridge, and sat heavily on the couch. "I never thought it'd happen," she said, searching her pockets for her cigarettes. Tohma gave relieved sighed when he saw that he wouldn't be attacked. "True, but I can't see anyone who fits Eiri better."

"I know, I think that's what pisses me off more than anything else," she said, lighting one of the evasive cigarettes.

Tohma sighed and went to the bedroom to change his clothes. "You should be happy for them."

"I know I should," she said to herself after Tohma had climbed the stairs. "But I don't know how I can be when I think Eiri's going to be disowned from our family?" She buried her face in her hands, an obvious sign of distress--which was a rare sight.

Tohma, meanwhile, threw his shirt on the floor and flopped back on the bed making a mental list of possible outfits he could change into and how to deal with Mika's over-the-top emotions.

Ryuichi knocked on Hiroshi Nakano's door. Hopefully it wasn't too early, and hopefully Hiro was there and not at the hospital. Hiro rubbed at his eyes as he trudged to the door. He'd been awake for five minutes and someone already wanted to see him; that was something only Shuichi did. He pulled the door opened and stared at Ryu for a minute. "Yes?"

"Hi, Hiro," he said cheerfully, yet nervously. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, you didn't." Hiro moved to the side. "Would you like to come in?"

"Thanks," he said, stepping gratefully over the threshold.

Hiro shut and locked the door. "So, what brings you here?"

"I was lonely," he said, as truthful as ever. "And I'm worried about Shu-chan." He gazed at Hiro. "Is he all right? And what about Yuki-san?"

"Shuichi's fine but unfortunately Eiri-"

"Oh no! Yuki-san's dead, isn't he?!" asked Ryuichi, showing his and Shuichi's shared trait of assuming the worst.

Hiro sighed. "No, actually, Eiri's much better then he was. I was just going to say that unfortunately he won't be released anytime soon due to a run in with death he had the other day."

"But...if he's alive, how can he be dead? I mean...Argh," he said, rubbing his head. "This is confusing."

"I mean he almost died, his heart stopped for a few minutes, scared the hell outta Shuichi, so they're keeping him longer than expected just in case."

"Oh." Ryuichi looked down. "Is he gonna make it, Hiro-san?" he asked, with a heart-melting look in his eyes.

"Of course he is. He'll be better in no time."

Ryuichi hugged Kumagoro and sighed in relief, then looked up at Hiro once more and smiled. "Thanks, Nakano-kun. I feel better."

"Glad I could help." Hiro smiled and shifted his weight to his other foot. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Uhh, sure, anything's good," he said.

Hiro turned and walked to the kitched for his morning coffee and tea for Ryuichi.

Later that day Ryuichi clung to Hiro's jacket as they drove up the driveway to the hospital on Hiro's brother's motorcycle. "I hope Shuichi likes his present," babbled the singer as he hopped off the bike, forgetting to remove his helmet.

Hiro placed his helmet on the back of the bike and stopped Ryuichi before he could get to far

"Hmm? Oh! The helmet! Kumagoro, why didn't you remind me? Sorry, Nakano-kun!" he said. He removed the helmet and set it on the back of the bike.

"That's quite alright." Hiro walked to the doors after Ryuichi removed the helmet.

Ryuichi dashed past Hiro and greeted the woman at the front desk with a huge smile. "Hi! We're here to see Shuichi Shindou!" he said cheerfully.

The woman was taken aback stightly at the man's hyperness and pointed down a hallway to the left. "Fifth door on the right. You can't miss it; he decorated it with rainbow construction paper."

"Okay! Thank you!" he cried, halfway down the hall already. He knocked on the door loudly and barged right in.

Shuichi was startled by Ryuichi's sudden entrance, then he recognized him. "Ryu-chan! Hi!"

"Hi, Shu-chan! Nakano-kun's here too!"

Shortly after the introduction Hrio marched through the door. "You could've waited for me." He held up a hand in greeting. "Hey Shu."

Ryuichi rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, sorry Hiro-kun," he said awkwardly. "I was just excited."

"Hiro!" Shuichi said with a grin.

"It's nice to see you too." Hiro sat down on the end of the bed, since he didn't want to be rude and take the only chair, that and the couch seemed too far away; he'd feel left out. Ryuichi, however, didn't seem to have any intention of sitting down. He was bouncing around the room, babbling about what had happened at work, and few people could have understood him--but few people were as hyper as Shuichi and Ryuichi. Hiro watched with mild interest, he didn't really need to listen since he'd been there, but it was amusing to see Ryuichi act it out.

Ryuichi finally ran out of things to say and sat down on the chair. "So how have things been here?"

"Boring as hell," he said promptly. "I'm glad you guys came to see me; I was so bored I decided to decorate the place."

Hiro looked around the now brightly colored room with the badly drawn pictures hanging on the walls. "I can see that." He looked to Ryuichi. "Didn't you get him a present or something?"

"Oh, right!" Ryuichi said brightly. He reached into his bag and pulled out a box with a bow on it. "Here you go! I figured you'd need company!"

Shuichi opened the box and saw a stuffed rabbit--it looked exactly like Kumagoro, only it was blue. He laughed with joy and pulled it out. "Look, Hiro!" he said excitedly.

Hiro stared at the plush friend for a minute. "It's cute Shuichi, why don't you name it if Ryuichi hasn't already?"

"I'll call him Koijini," said Shuichi happily. "Thanks, Ryu-chan!" Hiro shook his head and cracked the knuckles of his left hand, it was a bad habbit that he new would come back to bite him in the butt one day. "So...the doctors say anything more on Yuki's condition?"

"Yeah! There's a 98 chance he'll make it now!"

"That's great! I bet you're happy." Hiro looked to the door to Yuki's room only now noticing the noise of doctors in the other room.

"Yeah, I am! Those doctors have been there in a while," he added, noticing Hiro's glance at the door. "I bet they're almost done, if you...want to see him..." He said it before he remembered their slight bitterness toward one another.

"That's alright. He'll probably be too doped up on medication to really talk much anyway." Hiro crack the knuckes of his other hand. 'I really need to stop doing that.'

Ryuichi, however, had other plans. "Yeah, let's see how he's doing!" he said loudly. At the same time the door to Yuki's room could be heard opening and closing--the doctors were gone. Shuchi grinned. "Let's go! But I need help getting up."

Hiro pick himself up of the bed and offered his hand to Shuichi.

Taking it gratefully, Shuichi hoisted himself up, wincing, and smiled. "Thanks."

Ryuichi opened the door and was very quiet, quieter than was necassary if truth be told, but he didn't want to cause Yuki any harm in any way. In fact, he was very much like a child in a dying person's hospital room (Though, in spirit, that's really what he was).

Hiro sighed as he entered the room, the scent of alcohol and medicine filling his nostrils. "How does he stay in here?"

"I don't know; I've actually been wondering the same thing," said Shuichi matter-of-factly as he sat in his usual seat next to Yuki's bed. "Yuki," he whispered. "You awake? Ryuichi and Hiro are here."

Ryuichi looked at Yuki with a wide-eyed, concerned gaze. "How come you have to tell him you're here?"

"'Cause he can't see. It's brain damage or something," the pink-haired singer explained.

Hiro walked over to Ryuichi's side. "It's nothing to be concerned about, it's only temporary." Yuki snorted and rolled onto his side, he didn't really feel like talking at the moment, at least not to Hiro.

"Yuki," scolded Shuichi with a poke to Yuki's side. "Be nice."

"I am being nice." Now it was Hiro's turn to snort.

Shuichi sighed and looked at Hiro. "You too."

"Sorry." Hiro hid slightly behind Ryuichi. Yuki simply rolled into his back with a sigh.

Ryuichi sat on a different chair next to Shuichi. "Hi, Eiri-san, how are you feeling?" he asked, still bubbly.

"Drunk." Which in all honesty, he was. Hiro laughed a little at that.

Ryuichi cocked his head like a dog. "How are you drunk? They don't let you drink here, do they?"

Yuki shook his head. "No, but that's how taking medicine 24/7 makes you feel."

"Oh."

Shuichi looked at Yuki. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just tired."

"Oh...okay." Shuichi took Yuki's hand--the one that didn't have an IV in it.

Yuki smiled and closed his eyes. "Love you, angel." 'Angel' had gradually become Shuichi's pet name after the proposal. Hiro was shocked that Yuki was showing affection, whereas Ryuichi giggled madly and Shuichi blushed. "Love you too," he said, having not come up with a pet name...as of yet.

Hiro walked over to the door. "I'm going to go get some coffee from the cafeteria, do you want me to get you anything?"

Ryuichi shook his head. "Tohma says I'm not allowed to have coffee," he said.

"I'm not allowed either," Shuichi said glumly. "Not yet, anyway. You had to offer me some the day before they're gonna let me have it..."

What about food? I know you can't be deprived of that."

"The food here sucks," he said bluntly. "But I'll have a bagel or something."

"Hiro-kun, I'll come with you!" said Ryuichi happily, following him.

"Okay then." Hiro left the room and made his way to the elevator that would take them to the fifth floor, where the cafeteria was located.

Shuichi watched them leave then sighed. "Yuki, why are you and Hiro so...bitter toward each other?"

Yuki rolled over onto his side again so that he could face Shuichi, his eyes still closed. "Because we used to be rivals."

The singer quirked an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Yuki sighed and curled up under the blankets. "He loved you, I loved you, we used to compete for your attention."

"He WHAT?!"

"I do recall him telling you that at one point, so don't act surprised."

Shuichi blinked once...twice. "He never did."

Yuki sighed again. "Never mind, now you know, but seriously, don't act any different around him, it's probably gone and passed by now."

"Okay..."

Ryuichi bounced around the cafeteria as he waited for Hiro to get back with the food. Hiro paid for it and took a sip of his coffee, then tucked the bag that carried shuichi's bagel and a box of pocky each for Shuichi and Ryuichi under his arm and walked over to the hyperactive singer who almost tripped and old woman.

"Oh! Sorry!" called Ryuichi over his shoulder as he zoomed over to Hiro. "Hiya, Nakano-kun!"

Hiro put his coffee down and pulled a box of strawberry pocky out of the bag and handed it to Ryuichi. "Here."

Ryuichi took it. "Thanks," he said with a grin.

"Come on, let's go back!" exclaimed the singer, and with that he snatched Hiro's hand and pulled him toward the elevator.

Hiro snatched his coffee and let the singer drag him back to the elevator. "Where do you get all that energy from?"

"I don't know," said Ryuichi with another trademark smile. "Uhh, where do most people get energy?"

Hiro sighed. "Most people don't have the energy you have so I can only assume that you have a massive sugar supply."

"That makes sense," the hyperactive man replied with a serious nod.

They slowed their pace as they reached the elevator. Hiro pressed the down button and tapped his foot on the floor as he waited for the machine to kick up.

He looked to Ryuichi. "Why so serious?"

Ryuichi put his hands behind his head. "Well...Your band's not gonna suffer from this, is it? I mean, if I were in the hospital Tohma would be on my back every day telling me to get over it and come back to work, because he wouldn't want it to hurt the band. You guys aren't gonna go out of business...are you?"

Hiro shook his head. "No, we aren't. Shuichi should be out of here soon anyways; I wouldn't worry if I were you. Besides, it takes away some of the competition."

"Okay, good. I know you guys love music as much as me, Tohma, and Noriko-chan do."

Hiro smiled and looked away when the doors to the elevator opened. "So, how have you guys been doing? I don't get to see you that much when you're recording," he said as he walked into the elevator.

"We're doing great! As good as we were three years ago; better even!" Ryuichi said excitedly. "And, Tohma tells me that your sales are doing really good too! Congratulations! But..." he grinned. "Nittle Grasper isn't gonna let you off easy!"

"I should hope not; I'd be disappointed if you did." Hiro laughed slightly.

All the way back to the room Ryuichi babbled about music; he was like Shuichi in the aspect that he never ran out of things to say on this subject.

Hiro walked into Yuki's room where he Shuichi still was. He was right. His friend was still seated at the man's side right where he'd left him. "Here, Shu." Hiro tossed the bag containing the food to his friend.

"Thanks," said Shuichi, opening the bag. "Pocky! Hiro!" He glomped his friend. "Thanks, man!"

"Anytime." Hiro glanced at the clock above Yuki's bed and noticed how late it was getting. "It's getting late Shuichi, I'll see ya tomorow, okay?"

"Okay," said the pink-haired singer, a bit disappointed. "Bye, Hiro...Bye, Ryu-chan."

"Bye, Shuichi!" waved Ryuichi happily.

Hiro tossed his friend a smile. "See ya later." With that he walked out the door and down the hall. Ryuichi followed, not nearly as gracefully as Hiro had--reminding Shuichi forcibly of himself and Yuki.

"Hiro, I got Soul Calibur III for my Playstation 2; do you wanna come over and play it with me?" asked Ryuichi as they walked out of the hospital.

The Hessian: "Sure, why not?" 'There wont be much to do tomorrow at wrok anyway, since Shuichi wont be there.'

"Yay!" cheered the idol. He grabbed Hiro by the hand once more, dragging them down the hall at a faster pace.

Hiro nearly tripped through the exit as he was dragged out side. "Slow down you're gonna make us fall."

"Oh--sorry," said Ryuichi sheepishly. He slowed down.

"Thank you." Hiro slipped his helmet on when they got back to the motorcycle, got on and waited for Ryuichi to do the same. Said pop star hopped on, and, he clutched Hiro tightly by the waist. "Ready," he said.

That said Hiro pulled out of the parking lot and drove off. "Mind giving me directions to your house?"

"Yeah--turn here." he said promptly.

Hiro pulled into the driveway and pur his foot on the ground to steady the motocycle as Ryuichi got off.

As he did so, the singer remembered to remove his helmet this time and continued with mindless chatter about things that are not particularly important enough to mention.

Hiro sighed and took of his own helmet and removing himself from the bike. He looked up at the middle class house, in all honesty he'd expected Ryuichi to own an upperclass home with little fuzzy animals running around the place, not a house, in a realatively normal neighborhood, with a very nutral, very white paint job.

Ryuichi ran up the front walk, stopping every now and then for Hiro to catch up. Though it was not a very fancy house, the front walk was pretty long and the front yard was big. Immediately upon his entry a kitten scrambled its way up the pop star's body until it rested, purring, on his head. He laughed. "Hiya, Kuro!" he cooed, reaching up to scratch the animal behind its ear.

Hiro walked in shortly after Ryu, closed the door and stared at the cat with a slight glare. "You have a cat?"

"Yeah! Wanna hold her?"

Hiro took a step back, he already felt his lungs getting that heavy feeling. He shook his head frantically. "N-no thanks." It wasn't that he didn't like cats, he loved cats and they loved him, but he had a serious, if not embarassing, allergy problem when it came to felines.

"You're not scared, are ya? She's just a li'l kitten."

Hiro held his breath for a moment to prevent himself from coughing on both the innocent kitten and its owner. "It's not that, it's just...well..." 'I cough and wheeze, and hack, and can turn a rather odd shade of red when I'm around cats.'

"Well...?"

"I'm allergic." Hiro blushed. He really, really, really loved cats, and he'd begged his mom to get him one as a child, but she'd told him that it was either the cat or his health. He'd quit asking after that.

"Oh." Ryuichi put the cat down, then when she started trying to claw her way back up his leg he lifted her back onto his head. "So am I...but Noriko-chan gave me medicine for it."

Hiro nodded. "I have medicine for it as well, but I haven't known anyone who owned a cat for so long that I haven't had the need to take it."

"You want some of mine?"

Hiro looked at the kitten that was nested in Ryuichi's hair. "Sure..."

"Okay!" At light speed the man zoomed up the stairs, snatched a bottle of the medicine from the cabinet, and darted back down, in about ten seconds.

The amazing thing was, the cat was still on his head.

"Here ya go."

Hiro blinked once, twice. "How do you do that?" He took the offered medicine and nodded his head in thanks.

"Do what?" asked Ryuichi as he ran equally fast into the kitchen for water.

Hiro shook his head "Nothing...So...do you live by yourself, or with your lover?"

"Lover? I don't have a lover," Ryuichi replied. "Lots of people have asked that, though."

"Oh." Hiro bit his lip. "Sorry. I just assumed..."

The singer shrugged. "It's okay. But anyway, didn't we come here to play Soul Calibur? Let's go!" Hiro's poor, defenseless hand was once more grabbed and dragged, this time in the direction of Ryuichi's room. "Here we are!" he shouted excitedly, and opened the door to reveal a purple room with posters of Nittle Grasper everywhere, and actually a few Bad Luck posters between them.

"Wow." Hiro wasn't expecting that at all. Yes, he was expecting the Nittle Grasper posters, but Bad Luck?

"Yeah, I know, there're enough posters in here to make wallpaper," giggled Ryuichi.

Hiro nodded his consent and sat on the end of the bed. "We gonna play or what?"

"Yeah," said Ryuichi. He began scanning the large pile of PlayStation 2 games for the elusive video game. "Here it is!" he said joyfully, popping it into the console and turning it on.

Hiro picked the controller for the second player up off the floor and waited for the game to load. He looked at Ryuichi who was bouncing in place like he had to go to the bathroom...then again, he always did that.

After a few rounds of the game, Ryuichi paused it. "I'm thirsty," he announced. "Want some tea while I'm up?"

"Please." Hiro flopped back on the bed and rubbed his eyes which were sore from staring at the screen.

The singer cheerfully hopped off the bed and, grabbing Kumagoro, skipped (Yes, he skipped) down the hall, down the steps and to the kitchen where he busied himself making tea. The moment he heard the kettle boil he snatched it and set it on a tray alongside two cups. Once the tea leaves were in the cups he grabbed two spoons and a bowl of sugar, just in case, and finally headed upstairs.

Ryuichi walked into the room holding the tray of tea grandly--before tripping over the PlayStation cord and falling--directly on top of Hiro. And...

Their lips were touching.

A/N: I know, I'm a horrible, evil, cliffhanger-leaving person! sob I'm sorry, but this chapter was already WAY too long and that was the best way to end it! Gomen nasai! bow


	6. In THAT Way

Hiro sat up, staring blankly at the opposite wall. He touched his fingers to his lips; they were still warm. 'No, bad Hiro! You have Ayaka! But...what Ayaka doesn't know can't hurt her--_'NO! STOP! BAD HIRO, VERY BAD HIRO!'_ He sighed and flopped back down onto the bed, putting his arms over his eyes. 'Very bad Hiro...'

There was an uncomfortable silence...Ryuichi rarely stayed quiet for long, but this time he did. After a full minute of tense silence he said one word: "Sorry." His face was still beet-red.

Hiro tilted his head back to look at Nittle Grasper's vocalist. "There's nothing to be sorry about."

"Well, I know...but I couldn't think of anything else to say."

Hiro quirked an eyebrow. "You? Not have anything to say? Are you feeling all right?"

Ryuichi giggled a little. "No...actually, I kind of feel weird."

"Weird how?"

"I don't really know." The singer leaned back, hands behind his head. "Just...weird."

Hiro gulped. 'Weird, huh? Maybe it's contagious; I feel weird too...' He had an odd suspicion he knew what kind of 'sickness' this was. "Does it feel like a butterfly feeling and a little lightheadedness?"

"Yeah, actually. Why? Am I sick?" Suddenly he was sitting up straight in mild alarm.

Hiro shook his head. "No." He moved his arms away from his face to look at the singer again. "Come here." Confused, Ryuichi crawled to Hiro across the bed. Hiro took a deep breath and sat up, putting a hand behind the vocalist's head. "Close your eyes."

'I'm going to Hell for this,' was the final thought before Hiro leaned over and put his mouth to Ryuichi's. Said man sat there, struck motionless, then realized numbly that his eyes had snapped open, and that almost involuntarily, he was leaning into the shy kiss.

Hiroshi pulled away after a few moments of this, his face tomato-red and his heart threatening to fly out of his chest. "I, um...I guess I should be the one to apologize now. That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do." Hiro rubbed his temples and scooted off the bed. "I should probably go now."

"Wait!" cried Ryuichi, grabbing the guitarist by the hand yet again. "Don't leave," he begged. Without further ado the singer kissed Hiro again, and the redhead stiffened.

_'What should I do? I know that I'm feeling something way beyond friendship here, but what about Ayaka? She's already been pushed out of a relationship because of a very similar situation, and I know I don't love her the way she wants me to...I don't want to hurt her in the same way Yuki did...but I want this so much...' _A single tear slid down Hiro's face._ 'I don't want to give him up.'_

When the vocalist's hand reached up to touch Hiro's face, he felt the wetness there and pulled away. "Hiro? Ack! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have..." He sat back on the bed, looking down embarassedly. "I'm really sorry..."

"Don't be, really. You did nothing wrong." Hiroshi sat down next to Ryu. "I liked that, I really did. I just...have Ayaka and even though I don't love her in...that way...anymore, I don't want to break her heart." He began twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"I see..." He did see; he understood. He'd had his heart broken and broken hearts before and it never gets any easier. He smiled once more. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I know. But I don't know what I want to do!" The redhead kept his eyes on his hands as he spoke. _'Maybe I could help Ayaka get a new boyfriend. There's no point in being with someone who doesn't love you back, anyways...that just isn't fair to either person.'_

"That makes sense." How badly the singer wanted to lean on Hiro's shoulder to show his support, but that would probably just make things more difficult.

The guitarist took a deep, shuddering breath in to try and help clear his mind. He'd made his decision--he'd break off the relationship he had with Ayaka...but the question now was how to do it; the girl was on a two-week vacation and unfortunately had no cell phone. And how would she feel if as soon as she returned, her boyfriend broke up with her because he'd found someone else while she was away? Hiro knew that he would be heartbroken if someone did that to him--'someone', referring to Ryuichi. "My head hurts." He groaned and cradled his head in his hands; how could something so seemingly simple be so difficult? Oh right. Because love was a bitch.

Hesitantly, Ryuichi rubbed circles on the other's back, knowing how hard this was. "Promise me something, Ryu," Hiro said suddenly, lifting his head but still refusing to look at the singer.

"Hmm?" He was already busy making himself a promise--that he'd be supportive even if he didn't like the redhead's decision.

"If we try this, and it's not what we thought it'd be, we'll still be friends." Hiro's eyes looked like Yuki's at the current moment, staring at a Bad Luck poster and looking right through it. "I don't want to mess anything up."

"Of course we will!" There was no hesitation. "Losing friends is no fun."

Hiro cast a side glance at the singer and smiled; he seemed to be doing that a lot today. "Then there's just one problem."

"What's that?"

"First of all, the media. The media is going to have a field day once word gets out--after all, Bad Luck and Nittle Grasper are some of the best-known rival bands out there. And there's a bigger problem--Ayaka's on a two-week vacation." There was a silence.

"Those are some pretty big problems...especially Ayaka."

"Yeah, and I have no idea how to contact her."

"Doesn't she have a cell phone?"

"Nope." Hiro looked at his watch. "I really should be going; it's getting late. I'll call her father in the morning to find out where she's staying."

"But it's only eight o'clock," whined the singer.

"And work starts at five. And some people can't run for an entire day on five hours of sleep."

"They can't?"

"I can't, at least. I don't have the amount of energy you do."

"Oh...heh. Tohma's told me I have a lot of energy. Come to think of it, so have a lot of people."

Hiro laughed at that and stood up, cracking his neck. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Before he could think, Ryuichi grabbed Hiro's shoulders and stared up at him with pleading eyes. "Do you have to go?" This was the kind of face that dogs and babies make and people say "How can you say no to that face?" in that annoying baby-talk voice.

Hiro refrained from 'aww'-ing at the face his...boyfriend?...was making. He sighed and sat down on the bed again. "I'll stay until ten at the latest, okay?"

"Yay!" He began jumping on the bed in glee, before remembering that jumping on the bed causes one to bump his head. ((Yes. It's a rhyme. I did it on purpose.)) He fell back down. "Ow..." Tears filled his eyes and he clutched his head in pain.

Hiro crawled over to where Ryuichi was and put his hands over the singer's. "Let me see."

Whimpering, Ryu took his hands off his head. "I'm not bleeding, am I?"

"No." Hiro ran his hands gently through the singer's hair. "But you do seem to have a fairly large bump."

"It hurts." Though, it didn't hurt as much as it did; it was more distracting that his heart was racing at three million miles an hour and it was a little hard to breathe.

"That's to be expected. You hit it pretty damn hard."

"I need to get a bed lower to the ground. Or make the ceilings higher."

Hiro chuckled and kissed the top of Ryuichi's head where the bump was. "Do you want me to get you some ice?"

"Yes, please." It wasn't so much that he needed the ice; it was more like he felt like he was going to hyperventilate at any moment and it would be a little embarassing to do so around Hiro.

"Don't hurt yourself any more than you already have." That said, Hiro got off the bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen for ice.

The moment Hiro was out of earshot Ryuichi grabbed his biggest, fluffiest pillow and screamed into it, an almost fangirl-ish scream. The hyperventilation commenced, then as a conclusion he fell backwards on the bed with a self-satisfied sigh. **'I'm such a drama queen,'** he thought.

Hiro re-entered the room and crawled onto the bed. He placed the ice, which was inside a plastic bag and wrapped in a tablecloth, on the singer's head.

"Thanks," Ryu said with a grateful smile. He didn't really know what else to say.

"Sure." An awkward silence fell over the room. Hiro didn't know what to say either--or what to do or how to act for that matter. The love he'd had for Shuichi and Ayaka felt like nothing compared to what he felt right now for Ryuichi Sakuma. Not that he didn't love them anymore, just not in that way.

For lack of anything better to say, Ryuichi said feebly, "Are we still going to play Soul Calibur?"

"If you want." Hiro smiled and ran his hand through Ryuichi's hair.

The vocalist bit his lip, refusing the urge to lean over and kiss the life out of the guitarist. However, he contained himself and crawled over to the controllers, tossing one to Hiro.

Hiro caught the controller and motioned for Ryuichi to un-pause the game. He was tired of looking at Talem's butt which was facing the screen as she prepared to jump-kick Voldo. Ryuichi had called him girly by choosing to play as Talem, Hiro simply shrugged and insisted that she was one of the best characters in the game. He was about to prove that statement, too, since the kick should take Ryu's life meter down to zero. Sure enough, the moment Ryuichi unpaused the game, the kick depleted his remaining life and he groaned, falling back on the bed once more. "Damnit," he muttered.

Hiro leaned back on his hand and stared at the screen. Somehow he knew he'd get a nosebleed or some other 'problem' if he looked back at Ryuichi while he was sprawled on the bed. "I told you she was good."

Ever immature, the vocalist stuck his tongue out. "I still say you're girly for choosing her."

Hiro shrugged his shoulders and fell back beside Ryuichi. "You still lost."

"That's 'cause Voldo sucks."

"Then why did you play as hiim?"

"'Cause I felt like it."

Out of nowhere, Hiro shot up and looked down at Ryuichi, a grin plastered to his face. "Are you ticklish?"

"Uh, um...no?" He was obviously lying.

HIro leaned over the singer, still grinning. "Really?" He ran a finger from Ryuichi's collarbone to his naval. "What if I do this?" He straddled the vocalist and began to tickle his stomach, occasionally running his hands over Ryu's chest.

Despite admirable self-restraint, Ryuichi began giggling madly. "Hiro!" he gasped, "No fair!" He squirmed and wriggled under the guitarist, trying to get free.

Said redhead laughed and continued to tickle the man. His hands moved from Ryuichi's arms to his stomach to his neck to his chest, lather, rinse, and repeat.

Almost a full minute of struggling--and lots of blushing on Ryuichi's part-- later found the singer squirming his way out of Hiro's grasp. He crawled backwards over the bed. "Are you ticklish, Nakano-kun?"

"Not really."

Predictably Ryu tried it anyway, only to find that Hiro had been telling the truth. Slightly disappointed, he grabbed a pillow instead and bopped him over the head with it.

"Hey!" Hiro attempted to fix his hair from the frizzy mess it had become from the tickle fight. He sighed when parts of it refused to stay in place and instead stuck out from his head. Ryuichi just giggled. "You look silly," he laughed.

"Be quiet." Hiro huffed and folded his arms across his chest.

Ryuichi, still laughing, crawled over to Hiro and began trying to smooth down his hair. "It's not working," he said, running his fingers through the long red hair because he didn't feel like getting up to get a brush. Meanwhile, Hiro was all but purring at the touch. Shivers ran up and down his spine and he leaned into the hands.

Even after Hiro's hair looked presentable, the singer continued to play with it. It felt soft under his fingers. "Your hair smells good." He leaned forward and inhaled.

"Thanks," chuckled the guitarist and turned to kiss Ryuichi's cheek. Instead of letting him kiss his cheek, however, the singer moved slightly so that their lips ended up meeting. There it was again--that butterfly feeling in his stomach. He decided he liked it. Hiro smiled against the vocalist's lips and put his left hand on Ryuichi's neck while the other remained on the bed beside the singer's left leg.

Then, very shyly, Ryuichi licked at Hiro's lips as if asking politely if it was okay. Hiro opened his mouth and moaned when their tongues met. He had most definitely not felt this strongly about anyone before, not even Ayaka or Shuichi. His brain felt like it was going to explode with the sudden rush of emotions and his heart had moved to his throat, threatening to beat its way out of his mouth. He put his other arm around the vocalist's waist and let the one that had been on his neck travel up and down his back.

Ryuichi shuddered slightly and toyed with Hiro's hair again--it was quickly becoming a habit. As one hand played with the locks of hair, the other stroked the redhead's face softly. Hiro pressed against the singer and moved his hand lower to Ryuichi's butt. He nipped once at his bottom lip and pulled away for some much-needed air.

Panting, Ryuichi pressed his forehead against Hiro's, not failing to notice the guitarist's hand on his butt. There was a faint blush on his face and he felt a bit sick, but in a good way. Love was so damn complicated.

"That was amazing," Hiro said. Cliche, but true. Hiro was also panting, but not as heavily as Ryuichi. 'What's Shuichi gonna think about all this...?' He shared this thought with Ryuichi, who giggled and replied that he didn't know. Hiro rested his head on his shoulder. "It's past ten."

The singer put his arms protectively around Hiro. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Then you're staying," he said defiantly.

Hiro smiled and kissed the vocalist's neck lovingly. "Love you." He bit his lip--was it too early to voice that aloud?

Ryuichi's breath hitched in his throat. What was he supposed to do?! '**What are you supposed to do when someone tells you they love you? Oh. Right.'** "I love you too." He buried his face in Hiro's hair. His heart was now racing and Hiro felt it. The guitarist relaxed and wrapped both arms around the singer's waist.


	7. A Good Manager?

Author's Note: Just FYI, this chapter starts _directly_ after the last, so I'll put in a quick recap:

Hiro smiled and kissed the vocalist's neck lovingly. "Love you." He bit his lip--was it too early to voice that aloud?

Ryuichi's breath hitched in his throat. **'What are you supposed to do when someone tells you they love you?'** He pondered this for all of a millisecond.** 'Oh. Right.'** "I love you too." He buried his face in Hiro's hair. His heart was now racing and Hiro felt it. The guitarist relaxed and wrapped both arms around the singer's waist.

After a moment, Ryuichi decided he would rather sit on Hiro's lap, and did so. He rested his head on Hiro's chest and sighed contentedly. Hiro quirked an eyebrow. "Ryu? What are you doing?"

"What, am I too heavy?"

"No, you're just being...I don't know, cuddly."

"Is that...okay?" His voice was hesitant.

"Of course." Hiro tightened his grip around the singer's waist to prove his point, causing them to grind together slightly. Said singer leaned forward and and captured Hiro's lips again, and hesitantly began slipping his hand up his boyfriend's shirt. Eagerly, Hiro kissed back. Lips and tongue and teeth battled for dominance as Hiro's hands ran along Ryu's thighs. One hand brushed against the bulge beginning to grow in the singer's jeans, while the other snuck up the back of his shirt.

**'I'm not making a bad choice...am I?'**

Hiro grunted and fell forward, landing on top of the singer whose head met the pillows.

**'Is this...right?'**

Smiling slightly into the kiss that never wanted to end, the guitarist slipped Ryuichi's shirt off as Ryuichi did the same to him.

**'Yes...'**

Hiro broke the kiss and looked down at the man. "Ryuichi...?" The singer 'hmm'ed, sucking lightly at the redhead's collarbone.

"Do you..." Hiro moaned, "Do you...want...this?"

**'Yes, this is right...I don't think I've ever felt so "right" in my life.'**

Bearing these thoughts in mind, Ryuichi laughed a little and responded with a simple "Yes."

Hiro smiled and resumed his stroking of the tent forming in the singer's pants, simultaneously leaning down to share another kiss with his soon-to-be lover. Ryuichi let out a quiet moan and he found himself tickling, scratching, and caressing every bit of Hiro's skin he could find.

"I--fucking--love--you," said Hiro, kissing Ryu between each word. He lifted the vocalist's hips so he could remove his pants. "Are you sure?" He wrapped a finger around the hem of the brunette's boxers.

"I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything."

The guitarist smiled and removed Ryuichi's boxers. He placed a trail of feather-light kisses from the vocalist's collarbone to the thin line of hair at his naval. He kissed the tip of Ryuichi's cock before taking him into the wet cavern of his mouth. The singer gasped at the unexpected move then moaned loudly, gripping the sheets. Hiro hummed and took Ryuichi in as far as he could go; his nose was a centimeter or two away from the hair at the base of the vocalist's penis. He moved his head up and almost off the singer before slowly sliding back down. "Ahh...H-Hiro..." moaned Ryuichi, squeezing his eyes shut.

Hiro picked up his head and sucked lightly at Ryuichi's tip before moving up, kissing the singer's nose, then proceeding to remove his own pants. "We can still stop...if...if you don't feel like you're ready."

Watching almost hungrily as the barriers between himself and the guitarist were slowly removed, Ryuichi replied, "And I still don't want to." He pressed his forehead against Hiro's and smiled. "I love you."

'I love you too." Hiro smiled back and traced the vocalist's entrance with his fingers, throwing his pants and boxers to the floor. He captured the singer's lips in a breathtaking kiss as he pushed a finger inside his newfound lover. Ryuichi screamed into the kiss, then buried his face in Hiro's shoulder, breathing harshly in a mix of pleasure and pain. "I'm sorry, love," muttered Hiro into Ryuichi's ear, knowing the singer was impatient. "But I don't want to hurt you." Hiro inserted another finger and Ryuichi hissed, gritting his teeth. Even after the pain passed, it was still a little uncomfortable, and he squirmed a bit.

Hiro removed his fingers and shifted so he was sitting with Ryuichi settled in his lap, and Ryu responded by wrapping his legs around the guitarist's waist and pulling him close for another passionate kiss. Hiro moaned and lowered Ryuichi onto him, letting out a short gasp once he was in.

Yes, it hurt...but not enough to make Ryuichi want to hesitate any more than was absolutely necassary. He rocked his hips slightly then began to move on the guitarist, causing Hiro to moan loudly and push him back on the bed, quickening the pace and pulling Ryuichi into a rough kiss. Both men being virgins (1), neither lasted long. They both climaxed simultaneously, each moaning the other's name. Hiro fell with a small 'oof' beside Ryuichi and calmed his eratic breathing.

After a moment, Ryuichi cuddled in closer to Hiro, his head in the crook of his neck, and absently traced little patterns on the other's chest. The guitarist draped an arm over Ryuichi and pulled the covers over them and reached over the singer to turn the bedside lamp off.

"I just realized," said Ryuichi out of nowhere, "that earlier in the hospital today, I thought I was straight." he laughed. "Now look at me."

Hiro snorted and pulled the singer yet closer to him. "Sometimes things aren't always what they seem."

"Hmm, I guess not...though it turned out for the best in my particular case.

"Mmhmm..." Hiro let out a content sigh, then something clicked. "It's not like you to be without Kumagoro for so long..."

"I left him in the kitchen. Then I didn't remember until...well," he blushed, not finishing his sentence. "And I wasn't about to let him see that anyway."

Hiro chuckled. "Want me to go get him?"

"No...stay with me. Please."

"All right." With that, Hiro closed his eyes and fell asleep, able to relax with the knowledge that the little singer was near and content.

K was in his room, looking at his monitors from the many cameras he kept hidden all over the place--in all his musicians' houses, several places at N-G, and all over his own home--when he noticed movement in one of the monitors. Oops, was that Ryu's bedroom? He'd have to remember to take the camera out of...'Oh...shit...' When he watched what was going on he nearly gagged.

Although...

Scandals are a great way to get free publicity...

He grinned and called a friend of his--the editor of the popular magazine Bop Peat--and threatened him into changing the front page of the next week's issue. With another self-satisfied grin, the foreigner sat back in his chair. He was such a good manager.


	8. I'm sorry

I'm really sorry, everyone. I don't know if anyone really got into this story or not, and i would understand why not, because it flows so very badly. But... I can't continue this. See, the 'friend' that I roleplayed this with was in fact my girlfriend, and she broke up with me two months ago. Since then I've tried to continue editing the roleplay, but since it was over instant messenger I could see her telling me she loved me and all that other stuff, and it really hurts. I hate to be melodramatic, but it's true. This roleplay lasted, I think, a total of seven or eight months, and we got really into it, and the cast had children and the children were eighteen years old before she broke up with me. The roleplay lasted the duration of our relationship, and I wouldn't possibly have the heart to continue it without her, nor to ask another author to take the story over for me, because that story really meant a lot to me. Yes, I do know that it's ridiculous to let a roleplay get you so deep, but it did. I'm sorry, everyone. I know I'm probably being a drama queen, but I just can't continue it.


End file.
